If you haven’t already seen our Introduction to Wellness, we cover the six different categories of wellness and how we define them given their complexities. We’ve explained Physical Wellness briefly as the act of caring for our bodies, to maintain optimal health, strength, flexibility, and functioning.
So, how can we help you? Well, by laying the groundwork for a solid foundation for you to build upon, together we can restructure, improve, and enhance our daily activities and routines to new heights. Tired of being tired? Us, too.
To start off, we’ve divided up Physical Wellness into five major components:
Food
What we choose to put into our body are the building blocks for either a healthy or unhealthy body. Our bodies were designed to digest and convert natural food rather than processed foods. By consuming processed foods regularly, our internal systems can assimilate to our newfound diets and appear to be functioning normally but, can be an illness waiting to happen. A study by Harvard has found that the best diet includes high-quality foods such as vegetables and fruits, whole grains, healthy fats and healthy sources of protein. When you're craving those snacks, sugary treats, or fried food, remember that the quality of the food we consume sets the ton for our overall health and wellness, and ultimately determines that, ultimately, we are what we eat. As we move forward at B Health Wellness, we’ll be sharing tips, experiences, and even recipes for augmenting our food while still enjoying what we eat- that’s important, too!
Exercise
Regardless of our age, sex, or physical ability, everyone has the capability to exercise in some way. If we neglect the physical use of our bodies, they can grow weaker and weaker the less we use them. The human body is comprised of many different muscles and organs all pumping and working together as a system to allow us to function and move without being impeded. To keep the system going, we must stay active in a way that works for us and not grow lazy, which can do us more harm than good. The Mayo Clinic conducted research on the benefits of exercise and their results show that exercise controls weight, combats health conditions and diseases, improves our moods, boosts our energy, promotes better sleep, can put the spark back into our sex lives, and creates a fun and social atmosphere. Try moving your body and getting your heart-rate up for at least 20 minutes a day, and you will be activating all seven of these proven benefits to exercise. Over the course of B Health Wellness, we’ll present different yet appropriate exercise techniques that can be done within the confinements of your hospitals and healthcare facilities (yes, at work!) and other regimens that can be implemented into your busy home lives as well.
Sleep
It’s no wonder why Arianna Huffington wrote a whole book on, well, sleep. It is so critical in so many aspects of not only Physical Wellness but also Wellness in general. We see a lot of merit in Arianna’s approach and research, and we’ll dissect it for you over the course of B Health Wellness. To simplify, sleep keeps us healthy and alert and is critical to our entire wellbeing. We’ve picked up a copy of Arianna’s new book, The Sleep Revolution, and we’ll be sharing stories and learnings with you. This is probably one of the most understated of Physical Wellness but is so critical to overall wellness.
Skincare and Hygiene
Dermatologist Steven Nwe, from Northwestern Medicine, explains that "investing early in the health of your skin, with regular skin care, will not only better protect it from the harsh effects of the weather, but also keep you looking and feeling your best throughout the year". The way we care for our skin is extremely important, especially if we are highly active or even lightly-active people, and are surrounded by dry environments. Of course, as a medical practitioner, the products you use will have to adhere to your facilities regulations but, there are four products that we can recommend: a cleanser, a moisturizer, a sunscreen, and rejuvenating serums. We’ll review products over time and work with beauty experts on their experiences with the overwhelming products out there.
Hygiene is another important action in maintaining health and preventing diseases. Although this is super obvious, it becomes important to effectively shower, wash our hands, brush and floss our teeth. Personal hygiene not only keeps us healthy but also perks us up and boosts our moods! Do note that hygiene isn’t just about the tasks above, which are often easy to do; it’s also about seeking out medical care and getting physicals.
Overall Health... and Anti-Destruction
Our overall health may not just be limited to our food intake, exercise routine, and skin care practices, but can extend into many different micro-components as well. We’re preaching to the choir- we know you know this already- but if you already know of any diseases that may run in your family, seeing a medical professional examine your body can only help you better understand the lifestyle choices that will work best for you to support your overall health. We’re humans and forget this sometimes! Neglecting our bodies when they tell us they're tired, or full, or sick will further prevent our new healthy choices from turning into healthy habits. Our overall health is reliant on our ability to make mindful choices in our lives and to steer clear of negative behaviors that keep us stuck in less than peak condition.
And then… anti-destruction. We have to be cautious of habits that may be dangerous to our Physical Wellness and try our best to keep them within limits and curtail them or avoid them altogether. Excessive alcohol intake, tobacco use, not wearing seatbelts, unprotected sex are among some of the “destructive” habits that could hurt our physical wellness and stunt our overall wellness. Just something to think about and keep in the back of our minds.
When all five of these components are equally activated, nurtured, and cared for, you’ll see your life augmenting slowly. And you can be sure to feel amazing overtime! Remember, everything is a gradual process! Once our bodies are at their peak physical condition of wellness, all other aspects of wellness are not only balanced and in working order, but can be seen to improve as well!